


Coffee, Wampas, Muffins, & Sunshine

by Waffleknit_Narwhal



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Badass Rey, Ben's depressed, F/M, Finn's really great at baking, Fluff, Force Dyad, Hoth is snowy and pretty but it's too damn cold, In Universe Coffee Shop AU, My long-ass fixit was stuttered so I wrote this, One Shot, Reylo - Freeform, We need to cuddle for warmth, little bit o'smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28376358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waffleknit_Narwhal/pseuds/Waffleknit_Narwhal
Summary: What if Ben just quit the Jedi order and opened a coffee shop on Hoth?
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 55





	Coffee, Wampas, Muffins, & Sunshine

Ben wasn’t known for being the nicest person. He ran the coffee shop like a well-oiled machine, a holdover from his military days, but he had trouble… relating to people. Sure, his employees got paid a fair wage, he even gave them extra time off for the holidays they celebrated, but he didn’t get it. How did they just go home and interact with other people like it was normal? How did they always look so… so goddamn happy?

He knew he had the reputation of being kind of a hard-ass, kind of a loner, and definitely shit at parties, which is why, he supposed, he never got invited anywhere. It was fine. He rather preferred his own company anyway. But then she showed up.

It was a November Tuesday at 0600. She swept in, shaking sleet off her jacket and laughing like it was a fucking delight to be caught in the rain without an umbrella. And when she lifted her eyes to meet his, well he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

“Café miel with almond milk please,” she said.

Ben shook himself. “Sorry, what?”

She smiled. “Catch you at a bad time?”

“No,” he shook his head, “just caught up in my own thoughts. What did you want again?”

She shrugged. “Café miel, almond milk. Oh! And if you have some sort of muffin?”

“We don’t carry almond,” he said flatly.

“Oh.” Her face fell.

“It’s a known allergen to too many people. We carry oat or coconut. No dairy though because it contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer.” _Why was he talking so much? Shut up! Shut up!_

She perked up as if he hadn’t just summed up a portion of his life philosophy in a tidy package labeled “why I hate the dairy and beef industry”. Thank the Force she hadn’t asked about why he only had vegetarian options on the menu.

“I’ll try the oat,” she said with a smile, “Always a good day for something new, right?”

“Sure.” _Oh, she was one of those._ His heart sank. Was there no one in this world to share a slightly melancholy thought with? Hell, he’d honestly take just not being a bright ball of sunshine every fucking waking minute. He wrote her order on a piece of receipt paper. “Name?” He asked without looking up.

“Rey.”

“Are you fucking serious?” he said under his breath and shook his head. _Of course, her name was sunshine itself_. He wanted to laugh and throw up at the same time.

“I’m sorry?”

He took a deep breath and looked up. “I’ll have that right out for you. It’s six credits.” She held out a card for him to scan. He looked from the card to her expectant expression. “Sorry. Cash only.” He pointed to the handwritten sign on the front of the register.

“Oh.”

He _actually_ felt sorry for her; all wet and bedraggled and now she didn’t have cash for a hot coffee on a cold day. He sighed. “You’re new around here, aren’t you?”

She gave him a sardonic look. “How did you guess?”

He looked her up and down. “Besides the fact that your dressed for Jakku on Hoth?” He huffed a laugh at her offended look and leaned toward her, his voice low. “Look. Everyone here uses cash. It’s less traceable. If you’re planning on staying a while you might want to think about cashing out that account of yours.” He nodded to the card in her hand. She pursed her lips and said nothing. She started to turn to leave when he added, “What kind of muffin did you want?”

“But I don’t have any credits,” she said in a small voice, turning back to him.

He gave a small shrug. “New customers get their first order free.” _What the fuck was he saying?_

“Won’t you get into trouble with the boss?”

He smiled crookedly. “He won’t mind. So, muffin flavor?”

She smiled back at him. “Well thank you,” she craned her neck to read his nametag, “Kylo. And if you’ve got any jogan fruit muffins?”

He grabbed a muffin from the case. “Best on the planet. Baked in-house.” He wasn’t sure what prompted him to say the next line. “And it’s Ben. Kylo’s just a pseudonym I use at work.” _Aaaand he had just defeated the purpose of using a pseudonym._

“Ben, huh? Seems to suit you better than Kylo. Thank you, Ben.” She grabbed the muffin, tore off a piece, and popped it in her mouth.

His heart had stuttered when he heard his name on her lips. Several choice images popped to mind and he quickly turned around to start making her coffee. _What the hell was going on?_ He shook himself mentally.

“Damn, these are good!”

She uttered an appreciative moan and Ben was happy that one: they were alone in the shop, and two: he was turned the other way so she couldn’t see the twitch in his pants. He hurriedly finished making her drink and brought it to the counter.

“Did you make this?” She pointed to the muffin in her hand.

“No, we’ve got a guy. Really excellent baker.”

She popped another piece in her mouth. “Well, give him my appreciation.” She smiled, raised the coffee cup in acknowledgement, and shoved the rest of the muffin in her jacket pocket.

“Wait!” He couldn’t let her just go out into the sleet again. He reached into the back room and drew out an umbrella. “Here,” he said, once again expressionless.

She took it. “Guess that’s two now I owe you,” she said and pushed the door open. “See ya later, Ben!” she called over her shoulder.

He watched the door for a moment longer then started wiping down the counter. _Dammit, now he was going to have to buy a new umbrella._

**

It was Friday before she showed up again. Rose took her order, and he only knew she had been there when Rose came to the back room to give him his umbrella.

“Um, a customer said you loaned this to her a few days ago?” she asked skeptically. “Since when did you start loaning out your personal things?”

He snatched the umbrella and poked his head out to look at the floor.

“She’s already gone,” Rose said.

He whirled back to Rose and chewed the inside of his lip “What did she order?”

“Café miel, oat milk, jogan fruit muffin.” She shrugged then gave him a suspicious look. “Why? You interested in her?”

“No!” he said a bit too quickly. “I was just curious if she liked what she had last time.”

Rose snorted. “Sure. She did ask about you, though, _by name_. Your _real_ name. So, you’re giving that out as well?”

Ben set his jaw. “Look. If all you’re going to do is give me shit about a customer…”

Rose held up her hands in a defensive gesture. “I didn’t say anything like that.” She gave him a half smile. “I think it’s cute.”

He rolled his eyes. The silence stretched between them for a beat and he said, “So what did you tell her… about me?”

“Nothing really. But I may have mentioned that you’ll be working the register tomorrow morning,” Rose said in an innocent tone of voice.

His eyebrows rose. “And what did she say?”

“Pfftt. You’ll have to find out for yourself tomorrow morning. I’m not your relay machine.”

“It’s my day off!”

“What, so you’re gonna disappoint her?”

Ben gave her a frustrated look but remained silent.

**

Saturday morning was even worse weather than the previous Tuesday. The brief warm period they got on Hoth was really just enough of an increase in temperature to cause more liquid precipitation rather than solid snowflaking blizzards, but they were in the late shoulder season where the weather would change from clear, to sleet, to snowstorms within the space of an hour. Graupel had started gathering on the ground at 0400 and by the time Ben made it into work an inch of it was crunching under his boots.

A fresh batch of muffins already sat in the case. He had told Finn the night before to make sure they were extra good for Saturday. Finn had dropped the bowl of batter on the kitchen counter and stalked over to him.

“I know you didn’t just tell me how to make my muffins,” he said with a glare. Ben’s eyes widened. “Because we both know that _I_ know how to bake and _you_ burned bantha milk last week.” Ben was silent, eyebrows at his hairline. “That’s what I thought,” Finn said and went back to mixing.

“I don’t even cook with bantha milk,” Ben grumbled in a low tone.

“Which is why it was so surprising!” Finn called from across the room.

“Quit using the Force to listen to me talk to myself!”

Finn just laughed.

Ben adjusted the muffins in the case, inspected each one, decided which was the prettiest and set it aside. If Rey held true to form, she’d be along in about an hour.

She wasn’t. Customer after customer showed up, ordered, and left. _What the hell was he doing? Of course, she wouldn’t show up just to see him_. Another customer ordered a muffin. He reached into the case and realized there was only one left, the one he had set aside.

“Sorry, we’re all out. Can I interest you in a muja tart instead?” He gestured to another shelf in the case.

“But there’s one right there!” The man complained.

“Prepaid order,” Ben replied flatly.

The man huffed and snatched his coffee from the counter.

It was getting on to 1000 by the time she walked in the door. It had been snowing for an hour and this time he thought she was covered in stardust. Her eyes found his and she smiled. It was a brilliant smile. He could feel the edges of his mouth quirking up despite himself.

“Hello again!” she greeted him with a wave. “Do you remember me? I’m—”

He cut her off, “Café miel, oat milk, jogan fruit muffin.”

“Rey,” she said at the same time.

“Oh, right.” _Why was he like this? No one wanted to be identified by their drink order_.

“Actually, I’m impressed you remembered it,” she said.

He realized he had spoken aloud. His cheeks reddened. He turned to make her coffee.

“So… can I get that last muffin or are you saving it for someone special?

“No one special.” He gave a noncommittal shrug as he finished her drink and put the muffin on the counter. “Six credits.”

She pulled out the cash and handed it to him, her fingers brushing his palm in an ever so slight gesture. His heart stuttered once again.

She looked around the small shop. “So, your boss ever give you crap about giving me free stuff?”

“I have to make a confession,” he said. One of her eyebrows quirked up in a question. “This is my place. So no, the boss never gave me any crap about it.”

She snorted. “Yeah, kind of figured that one out.” She pointed to several certificates hanging on the wall behind the counter. Just below them was an engraved sign that read “est. 28 ABY, Ben Solo, Proprietor”.

His mouth tightened but he didn’t say anything.

She was still standing at the counter, rolling the bottom of her coffee cup around. “So, what made you start this place?”

He scrutinized her for a second. “Didn’t work out with the family business.”

She hummed and continued looking around the shop, still rolling her cup on the counter absentmindedly. It caught on the edge of one of the small tiles and started to tip and spill. Ben reached out with his mind and turned it back upright. Realizing what he’d done he turned a sharp eye to gauge her reaction.

“You can do it too?” she breathed.

_Fucking hell. Is that why he felt so drawn to her?_ “You can use the Force?”

She leaned in with a whisper. “I don’t really understand it, but things happen sometimes, things I can’t explain.”

He straightened and stared.

“Damn you weren’t kidding about those muffins! Looks like I’ll need to bake a double batch tonight!” Finn appeared beside him and Ben was startled out of his reverie. Finn looked from Rey to Ben and back again. “Everything okay? The boss can be kind of a twat sometimes but he makes good coffee so we let him stay.”

Rey laughed. Ben glared at him.

“He _is_ just a bit cranky, isn’t he?” she said to Finn. “So, you’re the one making these?” She hefted her muffin in her hand. “They’re amazing.

Finn smiled and stuck out his hand. “I’m Finn.”

_Aaand that was that_. Ever since Finn had broken up with his previous lover, he’d been hitting on everything that moved. Ben knew he stood no chance when held up in comparison to his optimistic friend. He sighed and moved back to the kitchen to clean while hearing Rey’s laughter and Finn’s mildly joking tone of voice. He cursed the day he’d found out the man could bake and offered him a job as he was leaving the Jedi temple. He sighed. _Just as well. She probably wouldn’t have gotten along with his prickly personality anyway._

Finn ducked his head into the kitchen. “Hey, we need your help out here.”

“What is it,” Ben grumbled.

Finn rolled his eyes. “Just come out here.”

Ben sighed and slowly walked to the front. He didn’t want to watch them flirting. He didn’t want to see her smile at Finn the way she smiled at him. “What?” he said flatly when he came up to the counter where Rey was still standing. He looked everywhere but at her face.

“Try these,” Finn said, pushing a plate with small slices of yellow and red tarts toward him.

Ben grimaced. “You know I don’t care for sweets.”

“Come on, Ben,” said Rey brightly, “you have to be the tie breaker. Which one do you like better?”

He finally met her eyes and saw she was smiling just as brilliantly as before. He blew out a breath. “Fine.” He grabbed one of the red ones, popped it in his mouth and chewed slowly. The tartness of the blumfruit made it not as overwhelmingly sweet as he had expected. He nodded. “Not bad.”

“Now try the other,” Finn urged, giving the plate another little shove toward him.

This one was shuura and the sweetness exploded in his mouth as soon as it touched his tongue. He calmly grabbed a napkin from the dispenser near the register and spat the tart into it. He looked at Finn pointedly. “No.”

Rey clapped her hands once. “I knew it! I told you he’d side with me!” She gave the dejected Finn a gentle shove.

Ben’s brows drew together. “You chose the blumfruit too?”

Her eyes sparkled.

Finn bit into one of the shuura tarts. “I don’t know why you both don’t like these. I think they’re great. I’m gonna make a batch of each and see what the customers say tomorrow.”

Ben turned swiftly and waved a hand in front of Finn’s face. “You will forget about the disgusting shuura tarts,” he said in a calm voice. Rey’s eyebrows rose in alarm.

“Fuck off,” Finn said. “Now, I’ve got work to do. You two behave yourselves.” He gave both of them a grave look then winked at Rey.

Ben set his jaw as he watched Finn leave. He looked back at Rey who had a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Is he single?”

Ben felt his stomach drop. _Fuck_. “Yes. But probably not for long since he hits on anything with a pulse.” _Why did he feel the need to add that last bit?_ He kicked himself mentally. What was it about this girl that made him talk when he should really shut up and just do his job?

“Hmm,” she tapped her lips with an index finger then picked up her nearly empty coffee. “Well, thank you again.”

He nodded. _Okay, it was time to cut this off. He didn’t need his emotions to keep flip-flopping._ “I appreciate your business. Please come again.”

She took a sip of her coffee and gave him a sly smile. “Just my business?” she asked, a slight lilt to her voice. He drew in a sharp breath. “I’ll see you later, Ben.” she called as she headed back out into the snowstorm.

**

Two days passed before he saw her again. It was Tuesday once more, this time at 1530. She walked in with her usual smile, but he felt his heart start pounding when she reached back outside and dragged a man in with her.

“Come on, I just want you to meet someone!” she was saying.

The man brushed the snow from his hair and laid a hand on her shoulder, whispering in her ear. Ben felt his anger start to rise but tamped it down as they came forward.

“Your usual?” He asked Rey, pointedly ignoring the man.

She nodded. “Make it two muffins this time and…” she turned to her companion with a questioning look.

“Whatever sort of black coffee you’ve got,” he said.

Ben nodded grudgingly. “We’ve got a good low acidity Sumatra that I usually recommend to our,” he cleared his throat, “ _older_ clientele.”

The man raised a brow. “Sure, that sounds good,” he said slowly. “I thought you said this guy was nice?” he said to Rey in a stage whisper.

She bumped him with her shoulder. “He is,” she whispered back. “Ben, I want you to meet Poe,” she said louder so he could hear her over the sounds of the milk frother.

Ben hummed but didn’t look up. _So, she had a boyfriend. He had enjoyed talking with her for a few days. That was good enough_. _He needed to stop expecting more out of life and just enjoy the little bits he got here and there._ He set the coffees on the counter, retrieved the muffins, and added a couple napkins. “Twelve credits.”

Poe reached into his jacket pocket. “I’ve got it.” He plunked the money down on the counter and Ben regretted the missed chance to feel Rey’s hand in his again, even if it was only a fraction of a second.

“Thanks.” Rey smiled at Ben then her expression turned serious. “Any chance Finn is working today?”

Ben stared at her, emotionless. “He’s in the back.” He paused for a moment then shook himself mentally. “I’ll go get him.”

“You’ve got a visitor,” he said to Finn who was just taking a batch of blumfruit tarts out of the oven.

Finn wiped his hands on a towel and removed his apron. “Who is it?”

Ben merely gestured toward the front of the shop.

“Hey!” Rey called when Finn came around the end of the counter. “Finn, I want you to meet my friend Poe. He’s a pilot.”

Finn halted, surprised. Poe stepped forward, a shy smile on his face. “When Rey told me about those muffins, I had no idea you’d be so hot.”

Finn swallowed. “Uh, thanks. You’re pretty damn good looking yourself.” Ben was watching from the doorway of the kitchen slack jawed. Finn rounded on him. “Look, I’ll do anything you ask. Just let me have the rest of the day off.” He clasped his hands together in front of his mouth in prayerful pleading.

Ben shut his mouth abruptly. “Yeah, um, I think you’ve got enough tarts here to cover the muffin shortage.”

“Thank you!” Finn spun and grabbed Poe by the arm. “You wanna get out of here?”

Poe smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Ben pushed himself off the doorframe and strode toward Rey. “What just happened? I thought you two were…” He gestured between Rey and the shop door.

Rey’s face lit up in comprehension. “Oh! No, Poe is a friend. Sorry, I didn’t think that you’d think…” she stopped and took a deep breath. “You know I keep coming here because of you, right?”

Ben’s heart stopped. “What?”

Her mouth turned up tentatively. “Hmm, maybe I should have made it more obvious.” She took another step closer and stared up at him. “Ben, I like you. A lot.”

His heart was pounding as he looked down at her, afraid to say anything, afraid to acknowledge it because then she’d disappear. “Are you sure?” _There was no way this was happening. Sunshine isn’t attracted to dark clouds._

She laughed. “Positive. Come on, are you free after work?”

“Yes,” he said slowly.

She grabbed his hand with both of hers. “Then come out with me. I’ve got an old modded T-47 snowspeeder just sitting in the hangar begging for a joy ride.”

He looked to where her hands clasped his. “Okay,” he said finally.

She clapped her hands together. “Fantastic! I’ll meet you here later.” She jumped up to plant a quick kiss on his cheek then scurried back out into the cold.

Ben raised a hand to his cheek, thoughtful. _No, there was no way she was this excited about spending time with him._ She probably just needed someone to go out in the junker with her so she didn’t get caught alone in a snowstorm. There were still wampas in the wild parts of Hoth and it was an unspoken rule of the planet that no one ever went out alone. Still, he couldn’t help the little thrill that went through him at the thought of spending time alone with her.

**

Ben stood in front of the mirror in his quarters behind the coffee shop. He wore black pants, a cream Henley and a black vest. He looked like his father. _Ugh_. He pulled on his old cold-weather flight suit and strapped a blaster gun to his waist, then pulled a hat on over his head. _Better_. He sighed. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. He’d go out with her for a quick ride in an ancient snowspeeder then she would realize what he really was and he’d never see her again. Simple.

His hand hovered over the thermos and last two muffins he’d grabbed from the display case. Was he just setting himself up? This was looking suspiciously like a date. He teetered for a moment then grabbed the muffins and thermos with a grumble. He didn’t like this feeling of uncertainty, not knowing.

He was checking the weather report when she walked in to the deserted café. “Oh my stars, is that a vintage, Rebel era, flight suit?” Her eyes gleamed as she bounced forward and reached out a hand. Her fingers stopped just short of his chest and she shot him a guilty look. “Sorry, I’ve only ever seen one of these in holograms.”

_She had almost touched him_. His heart was beating wildly and he forced himself to regulate his breathing. “I found the newer models to be less effective against the cold over long periods of time,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone, “They trade endurance for maneuverability, and during my training it was more important to outlast the cold.” _There he went again. Giving her random bits of information about himself she neither asked for nor wanted._ He rolled his eyes at himself inwardly but carefully schooled his expression so she wouldn’t notice the inner beratement he was giving himself.

“Really? What kind of training?”

He gave her a confused look. _She couldn’t possibly be interested in this_. He shook his head. “It’s not important. It was a lifetime ago.”

Rey looked at him intently, as if she was trying to work out just what he was hiding. “Does it have to do with those Force powers you have?” she asked, taking a step closer.

He stared down at her. “I’ll tell you another time.”

She looked at him for another long moment then nodded, lifting a brow and smirking. “I’ll hold you to that.”

_Fine by him. After today she’d never want to see him again and he’d never have to tell_ that _story._ He grabbed the thermos and bag of muffins, gesturing toward the door.

**

_She was a demon._

Ben stared at her from the reversed rear gunner seat.

“Pretty fun, huh?” she said over her shoulder as she twisted in another loop across the colorless landscape. Giving a whoop, she dove the ship toward a mound of snow-covered rocks and his eyes widened.

“Rey…”

“Yeah?”

“I think those are solid,” he said calmly.

She smirked. “Yeah?”

“Well,” he said, breathing harder, “typically you’d want to avoid flying into something like that.” The ship was flying straight for the center mass and he tried to calculate how he could save both of them when she was obviously intent on going out in a blaze of glory.

She looked over her shoulder at him, gave him a brilliant smile and increased their speed. “Watch this.”

They smashed through the center of the rocks, only they weren’t rocks, it had been a snow formation in the shape of rocks. It exploded around them and Rey screamed in joyous delight as they emerged on the other side.

Ben sat back in his seat, breathing heavily and staring at the walls of the cockpit.

“Pretty awesome, right?” Rey called to him. “It’s almost the only thing I can do with my Force abilities right now. The General says I’ll be able to do more when I have a better handle on them but for now…” she trailed off and shrugged. When he didn’t say anything, she looked back. His eyes were wide, his hands on his knees, and he was very, very still. “Ben?”

His eyes snapped to hers. “Again.”

She flashed him a brilliant smile.

**

“You’re sure you know how to fly one of these?”

Ben snorted. “I’ve been flying since I was 8. TIE fighters up to big Corellian freighters. Yeah, I can fly it.”

Rey climbed in the back and leaned over his shoulder to point out the different mods she’d made to make the speeder faster, mods so it wouldn’t stall out at those high speeds, as well as the extra heater she’d installed and a few other odds and ends. He was impressed. “Damn. How long did it take you to do all this?”

She sat back. “A few months. Mostly because I had to search for the parts I wanted.” She patted the inside wall of the cockpit affectionately. “There aren’t many of these old speeders left. I was lucky to get this one back to working condition.”

“It’s ridiculous how much goes into scrap heaps,” he muttered.

Rey’s face appeared at his side. “I knew there was a reason I liked you so much.” She _winked_ and he felt his heart stutter. Tamping down the growing warmth in his chest he turned to the controls and took off.

They flew for another hour, taking turns forming snow drifts to destroy and piloting. His face was starting to hurt from the amount of grinning he was doing. It was exhilarating to find someone just as brash and reckless as he was… as he had been back in his Temple days. He hadn’t let himself go like that in a long, long time.

“We should head back,” he said after she had turned a particularly large and detailed sculpture of a tauntaun into powder. “Sunset is soon and we don’t want to be caught out here after dark.”

Rey screwed up her face. “Is it really that late already? I was hoping I could show you something.”

Ben looked at her curiously. “What is it?”

“Something I found not too far from here. I was going to explore it tomorrow but since you’re here…” she gave him an expectant look.

He scanned the horizon, reaching out with his feelings. He didn’t sense anything threatening. “Quickly,” he acquiesced. “Believe me, you don’t want to be caught in the storms that come at night.”

**

The cave was dark, extending into the side of the mountain. An AT-AT leg had been pulled to the entrance, partially blocking it, and other scrap parts were littered around the mouth. Ben pulled his blaster from his side trying to see into the impenetrable darkness before them. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he said, cautiously moving forward.

“Relax!” Rey jogged ahead of him. “I’ve been collecting parts my whole life and I’ve been in way scarier places than this.” She picked up a sheet of metal and swiped at the snow covering it revealing an imperial symbol. “See? There’s gotta be loads of stuff I could use for my mods in here!” She walked further into the gloam.

“Wait.” He caught her arm, nodding toward the darkness. “You have no idea what could be in there.” He strode forward slowly, blaster at the ready, stepping carefully so as to conceal their presence. Stopping at the edge of the rapidly disappearing light he looked from his feet to the murkiness before him and took one more step.

“Ben?”

He looked back and held one finger to his mouth. He took one more slow step and disappeared from her view.

“Ben, please, come back to the light.”

He rolled his eyes in the darkness. “That’s what they all say,” he muttered to himself then spoke to her louder, “Just stay there. I’ll be back in a moment.” He couldn’t see a thing but he could sense the walls of the cave around him. He feet scraped gently across the floor skittering Force knew what further into the cave. The ground was becoming a slick ice sheet and he would soon lose his footing if he wasn’t careful.

_Why the fuck was he doing this anyway? To impress her? Why didn’t he just push her back to the snowspeeder the second he felt the threat?_ He sighed softly. No, if there was something here, he needed to report it. Regardless of his now nearly defunct role in the New Republic he still had a responsibility to keep an eye on the surrounding areas and make sure people were safe. It was the price his mother had insisted he pay for leaving the order.

He slid his left foot forward but it stopped on something soft and Ben felt his stomach drop. _Oh, fuck_. He backed away carefully, now aware of the creature’s gentle breathing. He couldn’t run, he’d only slip and fall on the ice. He aimed the blaster in the direction of the creature and felt in his jacket for the other weapon he had taken as a last-minute precaution. Making it back to the light he finally turned back to Rey.

“What happened?”

With a sharp intake of breath, he pointed a finger at her and said in a calm but menacing voice, “We need to get out of here _now_.” He started pushing her toward the entrance.

She looked helplessly around at all the scrap. “But…”

He whirled her to face him and grabbed her shoulders, one hand still holding the blaster. “You wanna be wampa food?”

“No,” she said in a small voice, her eyes wide.

“Then we need to leave.” He continued pulling her toward the snowspeeder.

“Ben?”

“What?” he asked, not turning back.

“What’s a wampa?”

He rolled his eyes and turned back, “You’re telling me you’re out here rummaging for scrap and you don’t even know all the ways you could get dead?” She looked up at him guiltily. He sighed. “Come on. I’ll educate you once we’re back at the café.” They had made it to the entrance and it was just a few more meters to the snowspeeder. His long legs propelled them across the frozen ground in the waning daylight.

“Ben?”

“Now what?”

“I think I figured it out!” Rey rushed past him, trying to run in the deep snow.

He turned back to see the wampa bearing down on them with a roar. “Fuck! Get to the speeder! I’ll hold it off!” He fired his blaster but it did little to dissuade the beast from making them its next meal.

With a swipe it knocked the blaster out of his hand and drew back to smack him. Both of his hands shot out, holding the wampa’s claws at bay. It beat against the invisible wall he had put up but couldn’t make any further progress toward them. Blaster fire came from his left.

“Where’s your blaster?” Rey asked as she continued to fire.

“It landed in the snow. It’s most likely useless now. Frozen.” He grunted as the wampa pushed against the Force wall. “Just get to the ship!”

“I can’t leave you here!” She fired a few more bolts.

“Rey! Dammit! Fucking leave!”

The wampa had figured out it couldn’t get at him and looked like it was finally starting to feel the blaster fire. It started to retreat, walking slowly back to the cave in the heavily falling snow. Ben sighed in relief and backed away. He turned to Rey. She grinned, hitching the blaster up to her shoulder.

A loud roar sounded and the wampa came rushing back toward them, diving onto Rey. Ben Force shoved her backwards with one hand and reached into his jacket with the other. A blue light illuminated his face as he took the ready stance then flipped over the wampa, slicing off a horn. It screamed at him and turned to swipe down with a massive paw. Ben rolled out of the way, came up quickly, and sliced through the air toward its leg. The snowflakes made sizzling noises as they hit his lightsaber, fizzling into nothing as the blue blade came down. The wampa was quicker than he had judged though, and it sidestepped his attack. At the same time, it kicked out the other leg and caught him squarely in the chest, knocking him to the ground and sending his saber skittering into the snow. His head cracked on the ground underneath and his vision started to fade. He looked into the snowfall hoping Rey had gotten to the snowspeeder as he felt the wampa’s large paw grab hold of him and drag his body back into the cave.

**

Ben came awake slowly. First, he was aware of a deep ache in his chest. _Probably a couple of broken ribs_. He tried to lift a hand up to his face but his arms wouldn’t move. Cracking an eye open he looked down and saw in the dim light his hands and body below his waist were encased in ice. “You’ve got to be _fucking_ kidding me.” He rolled his eyes. _Goddamn furry menaces learning not to leave his hands free._ This was his uncle’s fault. 

He hoped Rey had gotten to the snowspeeder and gone for help. He knew they wouldn’t be able to come until morning, and it would probably be too late for him, but at least she was safe. He _hoped_ she was safe. He concentrated on his hands. They were mostly numb but if he concentrated hard enough, he might be able to break free. He found the pain in his chest distracting though, and it had been too long since he’d practiced the proper techniques. Still, he tried to remember his teachings; calm his mind, breath evenly, open himself to the Force.

The ice around him melted a bit so he could wiggle his fingers. They were cramped and it hurt like a bitch. He continued to concentrate and finally flexed a hand at his side. He pulled at his arm, wiggling it from side to side, and managed to free it after a few more minutes. He stopped, exhausted. He ached all over. A chill was settling into his bones. If he didn’t hurry, he’d fall into unconsciousness from the pain and cold and might not wake up again. Bringing his hand to his lips he blew on his fingers, willing them to work. He had to get out. He fought through the pain, forcing himself to forget it. No one was coming to rescue him so he had to rescue himself.

He had nearly gotten his other arm free when he heard the roar that signaled the wampa’s return. He fought harder, trying to squeeze his hand through the small opening in the ice. The wampa roared again and Ben stilled. There was something else. He listened. There. The hum of a lightsaber. A small voice yelling. And finally, the wampa’s roar was cut off.

Ben stared toward the entrance of the cave where the heavily falling snow obscured any view of the outside world. Rey emerged like a wraith, only the blue glow of his lightsaber illuminating where she held it at her side. Snowflakes twinkled in her hair. _Are you an angel?_ The story of his grandfather and grandmother echoed through his mind and he scoffed, feeling foolish. When had romantic notions ever served any of his family well?

“Ben!” Rey ran forward and sliced the ice away.

Without the extra support, his legs crumpled beneath him and she caught him with a grunt, the lightsaber clattering to the floor. He tried to stand but could only manage to hitch himself forward on one side, a feat that also proved painful when his weight landed on his broken ribs.

“Stop trying to move, you idiot. You need to lie still for a moment.”

He closed his eyes against the pain and rolled to his back with sharp intake of breath. “Why are you still here? You were supposed to go back to the base.” He took a few shallow breaths and stared at the ceiling.

Her face appeared above him. “You think I would have abandoned you? Look, I know we don’t know each other very well but dank farrik, I’m not going to leave you to be eaten by a vicious carpet with teeth!”

He held his ribs gently and turned his head toward the entrance. It was nearly full on dark now. The storm was picking up. “We’re going to need a heat source, and some way to block the storm if we’re going to survive the night.”

“Got it covered!” Rey was already pulling the extra heater from her snowspeeder out of a pack she had slung on her back. “But before I do that,” she took a deep breath, “do you think there are any more back there?” She looked to the dark in the back of the cave.

Ben shook his head. “No. They’re mostly solitary creatures. And if there _had_ been another we would know by now.”

Rey nodded and set up the heater. “Hopefully this extra fuel will last through the night.” She looked thoughtfully to the entrance as Ben felt the warmth slowly soak into him. He heard a scraping sound and whipped his head back to the entrance. “That ought to do for now,” she said settling back beside him. “Now let me see your wounds.”

Ben’s brows flew to his hairline. “I’m impressed.” The AT-AT leg now covered the entrance, preventing the storm from reaching them and adding another layer of security to their situation.

Rey shrugged. “Can I take off your clothes?”

“ _Excuse me?_ ”

She blew out a breath. “Look you’re freezing. I can help with the broken ribs but I don’t think I’m going to have enough left in me to also prevent hypothermia from setting in.” He looked at her curiously. “I had to keep myself alive in the snowstorm for a couple hours. It took a lot.”

“More than most would have,” Ben breathed.

She reached forward and unzipped his jacket, gently laying a hand on his chest. He watched her close her eyes and breath evenly. Electricity flowed into him. He could feel his bones knitting back together. The pain eased. He looked at her in wonder.

“I’ve only ever known one other being who could do that.” For a moment he saw the fear in her eyes, then it was gone.

“The General doesn’t exactly approve of all the ways I use my abilities so I’d appreciate it if we kept this between us.” She helped him sit up and move his stiff joints out of the flight suit. He started shivering. She discarded her own flight suit peeled off his henley and grabbed the hem of her thick sweater.

“What are you doing?” Ben’s voice was shaky and he wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or from… something else.

She only hesitated a moment, giving him a pointed look before pulling it over her head. Now, in just a thin tank and trousers, she folded the sweater and placed it on the ground. She spread out their jackets as well then gestured to the makeshift bed. “Lie down.”

“What?”

“Really, you can’t be this much of an idiot.” She shoved at his chest forcing him onto the ground, the sweater pillowing his head, then laid on top of him. “Now put your arms around me. The more skin we have touching, the better this will work.”

He looked at the top of her head, barely daring to breath. _He’d lost his mind. This was a hallucination and he was probably currently being slowly eaten alive by the wampa_.

She looked up and placed her chin on his chest. “Ben!” She reached up and tapped his cheek with one finger.

He focused and blinked, hard. Slowly, he brought his arms up around her. She was small but warm and he felt some of the cold abate.

“Is this comfortable?” Her voice reverberated as she spoke against his chest.

He took a steadying breath. “Yeah. Are you… are you comfortable?” He tried not to let too much emotion flow into his voice. It was the closest he’d been to anyone in years. He still held his arms a little apart from her, afraid he’d squeeze too tightly.

“You’re actually a pretty good pillow.” He could hear the smile in her voice and his heart beat faster. “But you’re going to have to hold me tighter, unless of course you _want_ me to fall off in my sleep.”

He closed his eyes, breathed in her scent and pulled her into his chest. _She was sunshine. Pure fucking sunshine. How in chaos had she come to him?_ He still didn’t dare hope. She was only doing this to keep him alive. If she had been stranded with anyone else, she would have done the same.

The cold shuddered through him again and she snuggled her head into his chest. “We need to get these shivers under control, Ben.” She stretched her arms out, quickly stroking his chest, his sides, his shoulders until he reached up and clamped her hands to his chest.

“You can stop now. I’m feeling _quite_ warm.”

“Are you sure?”

She squirmed on top of him and he suddenly had visions of a very different night than the one they were currently having. “Yes, now go to sleep.”

“Okay, well if you’re still shivering in half an hour, I’m stripping us both so you can get more skin contact.”

He chuckled. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that sounded like a come on.”

Her grinning face tilted up to look at him. “Who says you know any better?”

His breath caught in his throat and he squeezed her tighter. “Go to sleep, sunshine.”

She pillowed her head back on his chest and his breathing returned to normal. Ben stared up at the ceiling, praying to the universe that this wasn’t a hallucination brought on by pain and cold. He squeezed her tightly then relaxed, drifting to sleep surrounded by her scent and a feeling of warmth.

**

Ben woke to Rey’s hair tickling his chest. She had unbound it in the night and now the waves felt like silk against his skin. She slept spread out over him, trying to cover as much of his body as possible even while unconscious. He reached up and smoothed a hand down her head in a tender caress.

She stirred, drew in a yawn, and murmured something against his chest.

“Sorry, didn’t catch that.”

She murmured again, this time sliding the pad of her thumb across his nipple. He sucked in a breath as it drew taught. She kissed his bare skin, twisting on top of him with a gentle sigh, eyes closed. Then she stilled completely. Her eyes slowly came open. She skittered back off of him, hand covering her mouth in a horrified expression. “Oh my fuck, I’m so sorry!” She sat down next to him immediately, running a hand over his ribs checking for lingering injuries. He sat up, raised a brow, and waited for her explanation. Rey stared at the floor, cheeks red.

“Sorry. I thought I was dreaming. Sort of was.”

“Must have been a damn good dream.” She pursed her lips. He nodded. Clearly, she wasn’t going to say more about it. “Well, it’s light out now,” he said turning to the entrance and picking up his shirt. “We should get you back to the base.”

She blew out a breath and pulled her sweater back on. “Yes, and you should probably see one of the doctors.”

_The moment was over. He’d had his chance. He could have kissed her, pulled her closer, asked her… asked her what?_ He kicked himself mentally and forced his mind to move on to other topics. “I’m feeling fine, which is surprising considering I spent the night sleeping on cold hard rock.” He pulled his shirt on and rubbed his chest. “It’s like they were never broken.”

She gave him a small smile. “Good.”

They got dressed, packed up the heater and worked together to move the AT-AT leg from the mouth of the cave. It wasn’t until he was settling back into the gunner’s seat that he remembered the thermos he’d brought along.

Reaching below the seat he drew out the icy thermos, cracked it open and tried pouring out the contents. It was still warm. He filled the cup and handed it up to Rey.

“Where did you get this?”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “I might have forgotten it was left under my seat what with all the… excitement yesterday.”

She took a sip. “How is it still warm?”

Ben shrugged. “Kyber crystal shards. They were too small and unstable to make a lightsaber, so I thought I’d try this.” He held up the thermos so she could peer inside at the faint red glow emanating from the sidewalls.

“That’s really quite ingenious.” She smiled and gulped down the rest of the coffee in the cup.

He huffed and tried to keep himself from smiling too broadly at her compliment.

**

“Omigod. I’m so happy to be back here!” Rey melted into a booth and laid her head down on the tiled table.

Ben went around the counter and poured them both a cup of the house blend black and stole a tray of croissants from the kitchen. Finn had already been there and left, no doubt to rejoin his new boyfriend. He sat across from Rey and she moaned in appreciation when she tore off a piece and shoved it in her mouth. “Don’t ever let Finn quit,” she said closing her eyes and chewing slowly.

Ben watched her over the rim of his mug. She looked blissed out and so very, very sleepy. Both of them could probably stand to sleep a few more hours. He had opened his mouth to invite her to stay when the door opened.

“Fuck.”

“What is it?” Rey said sleepily turning her head on the table. “Shit!” She shot up out of the booth hurriedly brushing crumbs from her flight suit.

But the General didn’t come for her. Instead, she pinned eyes on Ben and stalked forward. “You want to tell me exactly what the hell is going on here?” General Organa demanded.

Ben looked at her, sighed deeply, and sipped his coffee. “I believe it’s called breakfast.”

“Don’t pull that with me. I’ve been wandering around for hours trying to figure out why my student didn’t show up this morning! Imagine my surprise when General Dameron informed me she had gone off with you last night!”

Ben’s eyebrows rose. _General Dameron. General_ Poe _Dameron_. He really needed to get out and around the base more often.

“Um, General, I’m sorry I didn’t show up this morning.”

Leia turned to Rey and cupped her cheek with one hand. “Rey, I’m glad you’re alright.” She hesitated when she took in their disheveled looks and sleepiness. “Exactly what did happen last night?”

Ben sighed and tried to think of the least upsetting way to explain. _He’d really stepped in the bantha fodder now_.

“We were attacked by a wampa,” Rey blurted out. Ben covered his face with one hand and looked away, sipping his coffee. “Ben saved me but got captured. And then I killed the wampa and saved him.”

Leia looked from Rey to Ben. “And you were out there all night? In the storm?”

Ben knew what she was thinking. It was another time, long ago. He reached out to take her hand. “We are fine, mother.” Rey’s head whipped up and she mouthed the word “mother?” with wide eyes behind Leia. Ben acknowledged her with a slight nod of his head and turned back to Leia. “We didn’t freeze. We didn’t have to sleep inside a tauntaun. And you didn’t even have to send a search party out for us.” He smiled and patted her hand.

“As if that makes it any better. Why didn’t you let me know?” she sank into the seat previously occupied by Rey.

Ben sighed. “I didn’t want you to worry. And you know I don’t like using the Force to communicate that way. It’s too jumbled and full of feelings.”

Rey watched the two of them. “I think I’m going to just go hit the refresher and get on with the day while you two catch up.”

General Organa turned to her. “You’ll leave when I dismiss you.”

Rey pursed her lips and pulled a chair from one of the nearby tables. She sat down slowly, tucking her hands under her thighs.

“So, this is the place you’ve been running off to?” Leia asked her.

Rey nodded. Ben quirked an eyebrow up. “Running off to?” Rey blew out a breath and stared at the floor.

“She’s been missing early morning lessons with C3PO.”

“3PO?” Ben laughed. “Please don’t tell me you’re making her sit through those horrid history lessons of his!”

“I don’t mind the history lessons,” Rey piped up, “but I know everything already. I read those books when I came here.” She shrugged when she saw Ben’s face. “What? I was bored.” She yawned and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Mother, can we continue this another time?” He stood to walk her out. _Please leave, please leave, please leave._

Leia looked from Rey to her son. She touched his cheek. “You sure you’re alright? I’m sensing conflict.”

_And that was why she needed to leave. Fuck, if she stayed any longer, he’d have to figure out another way to dodge her too intuitive questions_. “I’m fine,” he said back to the emotionless response she would expect.

“Ben,” she looked like she was going to say more but thought better of it. Instead, she hugged him tightly. Surprised, he slowly reached one hand up to pat her back. “I’m glad you’re alright.” She let him go and stepped out the door, rejoining the soldiers who accompanied her everywhere when his father was gone on missions.

The soldiers saluted him and he paused. After the briefest moment he saluted back then closed the door. He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against the doorframe.

“So, mother, huh?”

_There it was_. “If I had known she was the General you were talking about I would have told you.” He turned. “I didn’t know she was taking on students again.”

“Okay, so your mother is General Organa. Is your dad also some big political figure I should know about?” Rey was standing next to the table, one finger drawing the outline of a tile, her fingernail repeatedly catching and making a clicking sound.

Ben huffed a laugh. “Hardly. He started out as a smuggler but he’s reformed. Mostly.” He came back to the table and stood over her. “Sorry about her. She’s used to ordering people around.”

“I don’t mind it,” Rey said with a wistful smile, not meeting his eyes. “She must care about you a lot.”

He sank into the booth and drank his coffee instead of answering her. She slid in across from him and watched him, brows raised. He rolled his eyes.

“Let’s just say our history is complicated.”

“Oh.” She went back to drawing the outline of the tiles in the table, her coffee ignored.

“Doesn’t your family disagree sometimes?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. I never knew them. I got dumped on Jakku and had to scrape my way through life up until now so I guess you could say that’s a difference of opinion. I thought they shouldn’t abandon me. They thought otherwise.”

Ben set down his cup and ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck.”

“Yeah,” she huffed a nervous laugh. “So that’s… me. Just Rey Nobody. And here I am sitting next to the son of the leader of the Rebellion. Talk about banthas and porgs, right?”

He leaned forward. “Do you honestly think so little of yourself?” He reached out and touched her hand. “You may feel like you’re nothing, and no one, but you aren’t.” His heart was hammering. _This was stupid and he knew it. There was no way in eight stalbringion hells she’d ever entertain the idea_. He swallowed his fear and plunged forward. “You are someone to me.” He pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. “You are sunshine, and warmth, and…” he paused, shocked at the next word that came to mind, “…and hope.”

She looked down at the table. “But you’re—”

“I know I’m none of those things.” He let her hand go. He had his answer at last and it was definitive. _Idiot. He knew he was setting himself up from the start. He just didn’t know it would hurt like this._ He stood up. “Do you want more coffee before you go?” He moved behind the counter to make her usual café miel.

“Go?” She stood, following him.

“Don’t worry it’s on me and I’m sure you’d like to rest.”

“Ben, typically after a declaration like that you wait to see what the other person says.”

He sighed. _Fine. She wanted to get the rest of it out. He’d have to suffer through actually hearing her words of rejection. They’d play through his head often he imagined. Probably at night, when there was nothing else to think of_.

Her hand snaked into his, pulling it away from his task. Startled, he looked down. She was smiling softly up at him. “I’m extremely exhausted. I don’t think I can make it back to my place in one piece. Can we lie down?”

He swallowed. “You want to stay here?”

She nodded. “If you don’t mind.” She leaned into him, yawning widely and hugging his arm.

His breathing was erratic. _He needed to say something, do something_. He led her to his room. It was sparsely furnished but the bed was massive to fit his frame. Rey fell backward and giggled to herself.

“This is glorious.” She crawled to the middle of the bed and stretched out. “I can’t even meet the edges!” Ben stared. “Well, come on.” She pulled back the covers and patted the bed. “I need my pillow.”

He carefully laid down next to her and she immediately flopped on top of him with a sigh. “You know,” she said softly, “You really are a good person, Ben.”

His arms came around her. “I’m not really good at things like this,” he finally admitted.

She folded her arms under her head and propped her chin on his chest, meeting him square in the eye. “Then tell me about yourself.”

He huffed a laughed. “What do you want to know?”

“Well, you’re ex-military, aren’t you? I saw the soldiers salute you.” She waited patiently for his response.

“Not exactly ex,” he said slowly, “more like inactive. I don’t participate in missions on a regular basis, I don’t attend strategy meetings, but I still, kind of, hold rank.” He sighed. “I suppose you’ll hear this eventually so it may as well be from me. I’m on an extended disciplinary leave.”

Her head came up. “What did you do?” she whispered.

_Funny, he could have sworn she sounded more excited than offended_. “I defied orders from a higher officer...”

“ _Higher_ officer?”

“… who also happened to be my uncle.”

“Your _uncle_?”

He took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “He was my teacher, my master. We disagreed on acceptable uses of the Force. He believed there should be limits, I didn’t. So, I started reading some of these, well, they were technically forbidden texts, in my down time, started practicing some of the techniques, actually perfected a few beyond what I had read, and here I am.” He couldn’t look at her face, knowing the question that was coming next.

“And what techniques were these?” Her chin was propped on her arms. Lights danced in her eyes. Once again, he was surprised at the lack of admonition.

“One was similar to when you healed me in the cave. I had to learn it, but you, you seemed to intuit that as a possible use of the Force.”

“It sounds like you’ve been surrounded your whole life with the rules and regulations regarding it. I had to figure it out on my own and never had anyone telling me what was and wasn’t possible. But there’s something I don’t understand.” She hitched herself closer to his face, her breath coming in short puffs, dancing across his neck. “What is so horrid about a healing power that would get you put on leave?”

_This was the part he dreaded to tell her_. His arms tightened and he blew out a breath. “It wasn’t just healing I was doing. It took me years of practice, but I was able to bring life back to someone who had died. I thought it would be useful in battle. If one in my command fell, I’d bring them back, but the problem was they weren’t always appreciative of the effort. I had sworn each of them to secrecy but there was one who wanted a glorious battlefield death fighting for what they believed in or some other bullshit. They went straight to my uncle. Told him everything. I was accused of falling to the darkside; using Sith techniques to further my own power; being too attached to people.” He threw an arm over his eyes. “I only wanted them to live a full life. It had never occurred to me to ask permission, which is what I should have been doing.” He was silent for a moment, breathing deeply, feeling Rey move with his chest. It hadn’t been as hard as he’d thought to tell her. “So, I gave up my rank of commander but I was never truly stripped of it. They called it disciplinary leave but it was really a mutual decision that I wouldn’t be serving the Republic in that capacity anymore.” He put his arm back down at his side. “Those soldiers you saw earlier were in my unit.”

“So, you healed them, or brought them back, before?”

“Theera, yes. She was pushed off a cliff during a skirmish with the Remnant Factions. Every single one of her bones had been broken. When I found her body, it was bad. She’s gone on to become one of our best.”

“Surely your uncle could see all the good you’d done?”

“It didn’t matter. He said I was treading a slippery slope, had started sliding and couldn’t be trusted anymore. There’s a history in our family that makes it more dangerous than most to tread that line.”

She nodded, thoughtful. “So, who was your first?”

“My first?”

“When you realized what you could do, who did you bring back first?”

“It was Finn. We had been training on the moon of Endor, out in the forest. There’s still Ewok traps littered through there, but we were being careful. Or we thought we were being careful. I’m not even sure how it happened, but a wire got tripped and Finn had an arrow in his chest.” He paused, staring above her head. Only he and Finn knew this story. Neither had ever told anyone else. “All that we’d been through and it was an arrow. He was losing so much blood and then he was still. I had only brought back lothcats before that, but I couldn’t just let him die. He was… surprised.”

Rey hovered above him. “See? What did I say? Good person.” She jabbed his chest with a finger.

“But there’s still so much you don’t know about me.”

She leaned closer. “I’m sure you’ll give me plenty of time to learn.” She pressed her lips against his in a gentle kiss.

Ben’s eyes widened as she drew back. He pulled her back down immediately, one hand tangling in the hair at the back of her neck, the other cupping her cheek. He tangled his tongue with hers. She tasted like spices and warmth, and he wasn’t sure how he had survived in the cold for so long without her. She moaned into his mouth, raking her fingers through his hair, pulling him up toward her, nipping at his lower lip. They panted into each other’s mouths, breathing the same breath, and something cracked in the air around them.

Ben felt a subtle shift in the Force. Something grabbed hold and tugged him toward her. He sat up, trailing kisses down Rey’s neck. Supporting her with one arm, he flipped them both and covered her body with his. Her hands were under his shirt. She reached higher, pulling and tugging at the hem. He sat up, whipped off the shirt and came down on her again.

It wasn’t enough. He wanted to feel the skin to skin contact they’d had the previous night. He ran his fingers along the edge of her shirt and satisfied himself with a hand diving below her to splay on her back. “Is this okay?” He murmured, nuzzling her neck, nipping and soothing with his tongue.

She uttered a strangled cry and he pulled back, concerned. “No, don’t stop.” She kissed him. “Yes, this is better than okay.” She kissed him again. “I want to feel all of you.” She tugged at her own shirt, tossing it aside then pulled him back down with her.

He trailed a hand along her side, watching as it rose to cover one breast. She sucked in a breath as he darted out his tongue to taste her. She moaned. He latched on and sucked hard. Spreading a hand over her stomach, he felt her breath heave, sucked harder, then let the nipple pop out of his lips.

“Ben, please. I want to feel more of you.”

He went rock hard. He kissed her harshly, squeezing her ass and pulling her against his body. As their tongues tangled, he felt another invisible rope grab hold and pull him toward her. She pushed him away long enough to completely strip herself then rose up on her knees to kiss him again.

Her hands were everywhere, his chest, his neck, his ass, his thighs. She kissed her way down his chest. When she reached his waistband, she looked back up. “Can I?” She hooked one finger inside. He nodded his acquiescence. She carefully undid the buttons and pushed his pants past his hips.

They stared at each other, both feeling the draw beyond the physical. As they came together once more, messily tangling their limbs, they felt it knot around them and pull taught. Rey gasped into Ben’s mouth. A shudder went through their bodies and they could feel everything the other was feeling. Ben and Rey were connected at the core, huffing and touching.

Ben laughed as Rey shoved him down, grinding her hips down on of his. She kissed his neck, his face, his shoulders, then reached between them to guide him to her entrance. She sank down slowly, letting him completely fill her before rising up again. He could feel what she felt, the exquisite stretching, the shot of ecstasy when he reached down to tease her clit as she rode him. She reached her climax gasping his name. He reached up, flipped them, then dove into her with abandon. The knot between them brightened and shattered into starlight as he came. It was fucking magnificent.

As they lay staring at the ceiling, trying to catch their breath, Rey tucked her hand into Ben’s. “I don’t know what the hell just happened but that was glorious.”

“I think the teens are calling it sex these days,” he said between huffs.

Rey thwacked him on the chest with the back of her hand and he laughed. “Idiot.” She rolled toward him, pillowing her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “You felt it too, right?”

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. “Yeah, I felt it too. I’m not sure what it means.”

“Nothing about this in those forbidden texts you read?”

He shook his head. “Guess we’ll have to figure it out on our own.”

Se nodded. “I have to admit something. The reason I first came into your shop was because something drew me there.” She looked up at him. “Now I know it was you. You make me feel… less alone in the galaxy.”

He squeezed her again. “You do the same for me. I didn’t realize how much I missed the sunshine until you walked in that day.”

She snuggled against him and yawned. “Ben?” she said in a sleepy voice.

“Hmm?” He reached up to stroke her hair.

“I want you to teach me. Teach me… everything.”

He laced his fingers through hers and drew her hand to his chest. “I swear I will.” He kissed the top of her head and drifted into a peaceful sleep full of warmth and sunshine, Rey by his side, and the Force binding them together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
